Chapter 10: Miao Miao’s Master Plan

Chapter 10: Miao Miao's Master Plan

Miao Miao is a cat beastman living on a barren planet.

Beastmen are the result of illegal genetic experiments from the interstellar era, a fusion of animals and humans. After enduring inhuman abuse, they are permanently relegated to the lowest rung of human prejudice.

However, Miao Miao is unaware of this. She only knows that her grandmother warned them the outside world is fraught with danger, so she never yearns for it.

Yes, them—many beastmen like her, survivors of abandoned laboratories, have turned their original cages into homes.

Initially, they were fearful, but they had nowhere else to go.

Later, they realized the cage was never a physical place, but the cruelty of evil people.

Thus, the abandoned laboratory became their true home.

Life on the barren planet is monotonous. Miao Miao acts as the matriarch among them, responsible for hunting. She is highly skilled, her nimble form moving effortlessly through the mountains and forests, always finding meaty food. As a result, the beastmen live quite well.

But one day, this tranquility was shattered by the arrival of two outsiders.

On their first day on the barren planet, Miao Miao, with her keen territorial instincts, discovered them. She observed them secretly for a long time. After confirming they weren’t there to dump garbage or blow up the planet, she didn’t intervene, only occasionally peeking out of curiosity.

Every few days, an enticing aroma wafted from the house where the two humans lived. Miao Miao, hiding in the grass, felt peckish during her watch.

Unable to resist, she unearthed the refuse buried in the soil by the female human and took a couple of bites.

It seemed to be the root of some food—deliciously sweet and succulent.

Such delicious food was thrown away? Do humans really waste so much?

Miao Miao felt a pang of regret, imagining thousands of such tasty roots discarded when she wasn’t looking.

A single root couldn’t win her over, though it was delicious. Miao Miao remained wary of the outsiders.

Until—

She took a bite of the leafy greens cultivated by the humans.

The female human seemed quite skilled at agriculture; the taste was excellent.

Miao Miao thought having two more humans around might not be so bad.

Soon after, she made a pivotal decision.

She would conquer this female human, integrate with the outsiders, and enjoy the perks of food and drink along the way.

Her opportunity soon arrived.

The female human had somehow acquired two massive beasts. Seemingly intimidated, she confined them to a pit.

Indeed, humans are frail, their claws dull. Such tasks were better left to Miao Miao!

She would handle the beasts for the female, adding a dish for her friends in the process.

But unexpectedly, Miao Miao suffered her first defeat in battle.

Unwilling to let her fur be sullied by the muddy pit again, she abandoned the task.

When one door closes, another opens.

Feeling frustrated, Miao Miao quickly thought of a new way to please the female.

It seemed the female didn’t know how to hunt. She drank some unknown liquid or ate wild grass every day, looking quite pitiful.

She decided to give the female a little gift, bringing her prized prey to the doorstep while hiding in the shadows to watch.

She saw the female shout excitedly, looking thrilled and searching everywhere for the gift-giver.

Hmph, the noble cat left only the shadow of her proud tail.

Not enough yet, she’d wait a bit longer, until the female felt indebted by the gift, then she’d have an endless supply of sweet roots.

Miao Miao imagined the wonderful scene of having more food than she could eat.

She could even bring some back to share with her buddies.

*

After the evil cat brought "gifts" of mice for several days in a row, Yun Wan had to admit the cat was starting to scare her.

She stood at a distance, directing Yun Ge, who wasn’t afraid of mice, to bury the dead thing.

Yun Wan decided to wait by the door today for the little troublemaker to show up and talk to her about stopping the scaring.

Isn’t being scared enough for her?

The cat’s movements had already been caught on the live broadcast device, and Yun Wan quietly hid behind the door before and after the node. Sure enough, the lightly stepping kitten arrived with a plump mouse, as usual.

"Hello, ginger cat, it seems these days the mice were brought by you."

Caught red-handed, the ginger cat showed no sign of shame. Instead, she gently lowered her head, placed the mouse on the ground, then licked her paw, every move oozing elegance.

Seeing Yun Wan too shy to take it, the ginger cat even pushed the mouse forward a bit.

This made Yun Wan step back in alarm.

Great, the little troublemaker showed her true colors.

Yun Wan, as if facing a formidable foe, asked:

"What do you want?"

The ginger cat paused her paw-licking, becoming serious.

Her gift had paid off.

The female asked what she was after.

Hey!

Miao Miao imitated the way normal kittens acted cute from her grandmother's smart brain: twisting her butt, tilting her head, leaning her body on the ground, exposing her fluffy belly.

She thought she should be more beautiful than ordinary kittens.

Yun Wan was prepared for this little troublemaker to make excessive demands, like wanting to eat the pigs in the pen, but unexpectedly, this ginger cat with a white collar directly lay down asking for petting.

At this moment, the cat's soft meow automatically added a cute filter in Yun Wan's eyes, no longer the very foul-mouthed little evil cat.

So, all the threats were just because the cat wanted to be petted.

Yun Wan couldn't resist the kitten's sticky gaze and couldn't help but reach out her hand, gently petting the belly.

Ah, it's so soft.

It's so comfortable.

Yun Wan kept up the repetitive motion, lost in the pleasant feeling, unaware of the cat's sharp claws that flashed and quickly retracted.

Miao Miao thought to herself, give this girl a little treat! Look at her, so naive.

"Kitty, you don't need to bring mice anymore, just come over directly."

Yun Wan couldn't take the scare anymore.

Miao Miao had successfully secured a long-term meal ticket and responded nonchalantly.

"Yun Ge, let's get a kitten!"

Still excited, Yun Wan carried the ginger cat back to the lord's mansion, and as soon as she walked in, she was met with Yun Ge's complicated gaze.

"Get a cat?" he asked with difficulty, "What about me then?"

Yun Ge's eyes were on the verge of tears, he held back, but still managed to whisper:

"You can pet my head, I'll wash it often, I can also help you with chores, I'm more useful than a kitten, keep me, don't get a cat."

"Huh? Why are you crying? Don't you like pets? I didn't say I wouldn't keep you."

Yun Wan didn't quite get the child's thought process, but she could understand Yun Ge's anxiety, after all, he was an orphan.

"I'll take care of both of you!" Yun Wan declared boldly.

At that moment, she must have seemed particularly grand!

Surprisingly, these words didn't comfort Yun Ge but made him cry even harder.

"But we don't have any money!"

"How come we have no money? We just sold bok choy, we have a lot of money!"

"But you were sighing a few days ago..."

Yun Wan was both amused and distressed.

Children understand far more than adults think, and are much more sensitive.

"That's because besides having enough to eat, we need more money to do more things."

"So we have enough to eat?"

Yun Ge found his focus.

He looked at Yun Wan for confirmation.

Yun Wan nodded.

"Alright, thinking too much will stunt a child's growth, leave these things to your sister, you just need to study well and grow up properly."

Yun Ge was a bit stunned.

He couldn't have heard wrong, could he?

With his silly sister, he received a promise.

She said, “Leave it all to... your sister.”

She let him call her sister.

It seems she never really meant to abandon him!

As for the matter of studying, he just ignored it.

Yun Ge covered his face with the blanket, not wanting to show his big smile.

True or not, it’s hard not to believe her when she puts it that way.

The next day, Yun Wan, who had dealt with the mouse issue and ended up with a new pet, slept better than usual.

Once the novelty of having a cat wore off, a new problem arose.

She didn’t have anything to feed the cat.

Nowadays, cats are quite delicate and need to eat special cat food, not human meals.

So, feeding the cat became a real problem.

Yun Wan turned to her live stream fans for help.

[Hey, host, don’t sweat it, interstellar animals can handle anything.]

[Wow, talk about luck! First a pig, now a cat, and neither turned into The Swarm.]

[Wow, I really think the host might crack the genetic code!]

[I’m sticking around—watching during meals is so relaxing, and I can’t wait to see more about these ancient creatures.]

[It’s like finding rare mecha parts that no one else knows about—so exciting!]

[The cat’s adorable! I came for the cat, and now I see how cute non-mutated breeds are—I’d love to have one.]

[Same here!]

[I’d love one too—times a thousand!]

[Just looked it up—the host’s trending!]

Seeing the comments, Yun Wan stopped stressing about the cat’s food and turned to look at the live stream viewer count.

She hadn’t really checked the numbers before, but now she was stunned.

She double-checked and had to admit her live stream had really hit over a million viewers.

Her follower count was already fifty thousand and climbing.

Without even realizing it, she’d become a hit.

Yun Wan checked the sweet potatoes—the first batch was ready, and the next ones were almost there.

Seizing the moment, she posted the sweet potato link right away.

“Our sweet potatoes are almost ready—let’s see how big the harvest is!”

Yun Wan pulled out the two sweet potatoes she had planted first and counted them, finding that she had harvested a total of 23 large sweet potatoes.

The yield had increased severalfold.

This harvest made Yun Wan's heart race with excitement.

Oh my gosh, she felt like she had mastered the secret to getting rich.

She decided that from today on, she would no longer disdain the system; she would treat it like gold!

She absolutely loved scavenging and farming!

"These two sweet potatoes are reserved for my own consumption, and the remaining 18 are already listed for sale. Currently, it's conservatively estimated that we could harvest 180 sweet potatoes, priced at 500 star coins for two. Interested friends, hurry and place your orders!"

"If the actual yield is lower, those who purchase later will receive a refund but will gain priority for the next purchase. Everyone, don't worry."

Yun Wan held the sweet potatoes, happily watching the number of orders increase sporadically, and then gave one final nudge.

"Sweet potatoes are a new product, and everyone still doesn't know the taste. Today, we'll eat roasted sweet potatoes! I will enable sensory sharing, and everyone is welcome to come and taste!"